Labor defends new Kyoto pledge

The federal government's main representative at the United Nations climate talks says Australia's next target under the Kyoto Protocol represents a major effort to cut carbon emissions.

Labor announced this week it was ready to commit to limiting annual emissions to an average of 99.5 per cent of 1990 levels from 2013 to 2020, in the second Kyoto commitment period.

That's consistent with the bipartisan domestic pledge to reduce carbon pollution to at least five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.

Greens leader Christine Milne says the government has done "the least it thought it could possibly get away with".

"Sneaking in a hair below 100 per cent is nevertheless an insult to countries like China and India which have far lower emissions than ours, both per capita and per unit of GDP," Ms Milne said in a statement.

He'll attend the second week of United Nations climate change negotiations in Doha next week. Countries are working towards establishing a binding emissions-reduction agreement by 2015 covering all major polluters.

"We've announced Australia's target for the purpose of the second commitment period of Kyoto is to be 99.5 per cent off 1990 levels," Mr Dreyfus told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

"It's not too low. It marks a very, very major effort ... that would be a cut of around 24 per cent against business as usual."

Mr Dreyfus said it was the right target for Australia and "it's being recognised for the effort that it is by the rest of the world".

That's a sentiment shared by the World Wildlife Fund.

"The QELRO (Kyoto 2 pledge) is diplomatically very significant as it sends a signal to the international community of the Australian government's current thinking on the minimum level of effort Australia is prepared to put into delivering a global solution to climate change," the fund said in a briefing note.

Both major parties have pledged to increase Australia's target to 25 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 if there's genuine global resolve.

Canberra's Kyoto 2 submission states: "The option to move up within the full target range ... remains if Australia's target conditions relating to the extent of global action are met."

Climate Institute deputy chief Erwin Jackson, who's already in Qatar, says Australia's preparedness to take on a new Kyoto target "has been met with genuine relief, and in some cases surprise, from a range of delegates from progressive countries".

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